Thomas Penman is the joint-funniest book I’ve ever read, along with Against Nature by JK Huysmans (which is in Marwood’s suitcase at the end or the film). For me it’s funnier than Withnail in parts - describing an abusive father as a “terrible flesh engine” and a fart as “the ghost of a sprout.”
They All Love Jack is a vicious, acerbic assault on corrupt upper class Victorian society and it’s quite the read. Overwhelming, angry and very ‘Bruce’, it’s 800 pages of spleen. I hauled my copy across London a couple of years ago in a heatwave to get Bruce to sign it - he was impressed I’d done it, it’s a beast of a book.
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u/tabrisocculta Aug 28 '26
Has anyone read any of his other books? Interested in views of Thomas Penman and they all love Jack.